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Feature

Before he was sent to live and work on the International Space Station for six months, Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin autographed his crew photo for another famous Russian. Now, the photo has reached its intended recipient: National Hockey League star Alexander Ovechkin.

Image left: Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin, who was born in Russia, poses with an autographed photo from Mikhail Tyurin, the Russian crew member serving as Expedition 14 Flight Engineer on the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA TV

While Tyurin orbited aboard the station some 220 miles above Earth, Ovechkin was presented with the framed photo following practice with his Washington Capitals teammates. Ovechkin was thrilled to receive the photo from a cosmonaut.

"Very important people for any country," said Ovechkin, "Russia or U.S."

Ovechkin was pleased to learn that before Tyurin took up engineering as a career, he had wanted to grow up to be a hockey player.